


Of all the gym joints in all the world

by rudygosia



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Climbing, Climbing AU, F/F, Meet-Cute, No Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23030065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudygosia/pseuds/rudygosia
Summary: To support Raven's physical therapy, Clarke and Raven start going indoor climbing. They pick up a new hobby, make a bunch of new friends, and Clarke loses her cool in front of climbing instructor Lexa.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 11
Kudos: 62





	1. Never let go of the break rope

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, you! I’m so happy you decided to give my story a chance! Thank you! I’m always up for comments - be it corrections or praise, haha! Please be patient, life’s crazy, so the updates will be sporadic. But! I will never abandon the story, so no worries there.
> 
> In this story, I think you can understand all climbing-related terms from the scenes, but if you decide they weren't clear enough, leave me a comment and I will add a short dictionary. Thank you!
> 
> And now... Happy reading!

Gyms were usually loud; noisy with the sounds of weights dropping and time-killing comments in-between sets, gyms usually abounded with huffing and puffing and chalk talk, all more important than finding long-lasting friendships. Yes, gyms didn't usually reverberate with friendly antics and genuine belly laughs, with pleasurable banter and casual conversations. Gyms were like that - except for this one. This gym was always hustling with shenanigans and affectionate laughs. Swarmed with regular climbers sharing their chummy inside jokes, crawling with buddies getting their first plunge into the art of climbing, or kids from the afternoon club, this one was hustling with climbing advice, never-ending giggles, and overjoyed screams. This gym was a community; this one was hustling and bustling with good humor, mutual support, and camaraderie.

With Raven splayed on the climbing wall, tied securely at the other end of the rope, Clarke cast glances around the gym, nodding to the other climbers she came to know, and smiling to herself, laughing at how she became part of this particular crowd. She had friends, best friends that supported each other through and through, and she never felt lonely; quite the opposite, actually. But assisting Raven in her physical therapy led her to something new, led her to this crazy tribe that shared passion, that understood the pull towards rocks and rope. Supporting Raven allowed her to became a part of something she found herself to cherish and appreciate in a completely different way.

The rope dangled a bit, suggesting Raven was swinging herself in preparation for her next move. Supported and cheered by her therapist, she decided to climb a route slightly exceeding the abilities of her bum leg, but the hero Raven was, she refused to quit before getting at least one half of the route conquered. Clarke drew her attention back to her best friend, who swayed back and forth, unsure of the next move.  
"Go on, Rae!" Clarke's voice echoed around as she tightened her grip on the rope, making sure Raven felt safe. It was a challenge to exercise her damaged nerves, and yes, Raven was a hero, but she wasn't invincible, as much as she believed to be. "Trust your legs!"  
"I'll trust my legs to kick your butt later, God damn it," came a pained, but not malicious answer from the ambitious girl currently balanced between three small holds, halfway up a 17-meter wall. The rope tightened as Raven finally pushed off her legs, hand shooting up and voice grunting, and made a successful pass towards a higher hold.  
"Nice one, Rae!" cheers and claps followed, and so did Raven's relief.  
Pulling back the slack rope, Clarke took a few steps backward to position herself in a better spot for a safe belay, and suddenly felt a bit of a block, bumping into another person, unfamiliar hands landing on her waist to steady her sway. Both bodies wobbled, but managed not to lose their footing.  
"Shit, goodness, I'm so sorry," hands still on the brake rope and eyes still trained on Raven, Clarke puffed, moving a bit to adjust her position. "I'm still a bit clumsy around here."  
"You didn't let go of the brake rope, so you're still good in my books," said the second culprit, calm and collected, but with a hint of a smile and a little wink. Feet shuffled, hands disappeared, and the two figures danced around to find their own spots.  
Curious green eyes matched Clarke's gaze, and she blushed, froze for a millisecond, finding herself a dash embarrassed. Toned arms, a curved smile and cheeky eyes let her keep at least part of her usual swagger, though, as the gorgeous stranger pulled up the "Instructor" jumper.  
"Ha, never!" Clarke's exaggerated seriousness matched with the playful situation, and she tugged on the rope sharply for confirmation. Too sharply, as Raven squeaked and pulled back, and Clarke jolted abruptly, jolted back to reality and to Raven stuck on the wall.  
"Sorry, sorry!"  
The instructor girl pointed at the hands that held Raven's rope tightly, a red spot forming on the top one from when it just got pinched by the belay device.  
"Move your hand a bit lower, it gives the same security, but you won't get hurt. And this one... Wiggle it a little here. There you go. Alternatively, you get nipped a few times, and you'll learn," she laughed, and Clarke knit her eyebrows, listening to the pleasant voice giving her pointers, trying not to focus on the goosebumps rising on her arms. She followed the advice and jiggled her hands; it was helpful and came from a knowledgeable source. The stranger stood there, making sure all was good, and for whatever reason, Clarke couldn't stop herself from asking for more. Yes, she was inquisitive by nature, but the voice was a charming addition to the current mix.  
"Do you know how to give her more rope, so she can come down, instead of me lowering her? Maybe you could show me how to do it?"  
"Sure, yeah. Raven, right? Hey Raven, do you wanna try and climb down?"  
With the agreement received in a few trusting nods, hands mingled on the belay device. Pushing away the sudden sense of novelty and a chilly feeling coming from who knows where, Clarke concentrated on the smooth hands that guided her grip and the steady directions that explained all the moves. "Loosen your right hand, use it with the rope. Grab it in front, like that. Left hand presses here, see? Then you can pass the rope and secure it at the same time. You can hold it and feed the rope at the same time. Just remember, never..."  
"Let go of the brake rope, yes."  
Smiles exchanged, the girl stepped back and tipped her head, encouraging Clarke to follow her guidance. Using the newly learned trick, Clarke communicated with Raven, and the other girl started climbing down, unsure and hesitant at first, legs careful and precise, and gaining more courage every step of the way. It took a few moves, but finally, the rope slid easily through the belay device, letting Raven make more comfortable moves down the wall.  
"Nice, you got it. Keep it up, great job."  
"Thanks," Clarke stopped for a second, leaving Raven confused and suspended mid-move. "Hey, what's your name, by the way?"  
"Lexa."  
"I'm Clarke. Thanks again for your help."  
Timid glances and bashful nods exchanged, the unplanned learning moment finished as abruptly as it came to be, leaving behind the feeling of success and hope. This whole scene felt odd to her, like a breath of freezing air. Clarke shook her head and shoulders, getting rid of the chill, and routing her awareness back to the climbing gym, back to her climbing partner.  
Raven put her feet on the ground, careful to slip off the last holds and aware of the new method they just learned, eyes flitting observantly between the two girls, the instructor engaged in a new conversation now.  
"Fucking great," she huffed, wrestling with the knot and shaking the strain from her arms. "You're the weirdest, did you know that?"  
"Huh?"  
"Don't 'huh' me, C. Of course, leave it to you to find a girl in the dirtiest and smelliest place in this city. And all that while I'm left dangling on at your mercy!"  
Clarke snorted at the joke, or maybe at the suggestion, and wobbled the belay device in front of Raven.  
"Well, we wanted to try that before, so just be glad I got some pointers."  
"Yeah, whatever you say," device snatched and her own opinion formed already, Raven nudged her friend. "Alright, show me how to do it, so I can dangle your ass now!"


	2. Always wear your best gym clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting! Enjoy this short hilarious tomfoolery!

Week by week, day by day, the climbing gym grew on Clarke, seeping through the cracks of her initial disbelief and nervousness, dripping fun and exercise and new friends. Day by day, Clarke could feel her new family grow, and the easiness of a public place embrace her demeanor, embrace and lure her usual funny antics towards this ragtag community. There were more crew members to greet, more kids to race up the walls with, more people to high five, and more fellow climbers to chat with on her breaks. With the positive energy and the strength it gave her relationship with Raven, Clarke knew nothing was out there to change it.  
"Oi, Clarkey!" a shout came from the back of the gym, equally playful and catty. "How's your grip today, still slippery?"  
Undisturbed by the comment from the resident wisecracker, hands on the harness she was carefully pulling up, Clarke didn't spare him one glance, didn't falter her smile.  
"Thanks, Finn, how's your bicep? Still non-existent?"  
"Ah, you know, you gotta let other people shine sometimes. Alrighty, have a good session, Clarkey."  
The footsteps moved to the further part of the gym, and the ones that stayed were from Raven, who shuffled around, full of energy. The short convo didn't include her, and she wasn't too good with being just an observer.  
"Damn, C. Every time you're here, this boy just gets more stupid flirty," she laughed, amused at the situation her friends found herself in. "You should just bone his ass and get it over with."  
Right at this moment, a series of thuds followed, echoing through the gym, echoing right next to the girls and snapping them at attention. It was Lexa who stood rooted, surrounded by a bunch of shoeboxes, hands on her hips and a smile on her lips, looking abashed and rosy-faced.  
"Hey Raven, any route plans for today," was her attempt at a casual answer to Raven's knitted brows. A curt nod followed towards Clarke, who pulled the last buckle on her harness and came up, gathering some of the boxes and loose shoes on the way.  
"Rave, do you mind?" the request didn't land with the recipient, as Raven shook her head, entertained by the situation.  
"Sorry, leg's not feeling it today."  
"Of course, you can bend it on the wall but not to help out," the whisper was loud enough for Raven to hear, and everyone laughed.  
"What about you Clark, what's your plan for today?"  
"Nothing special, I have my eye on the new 6a, but I don't think…"  
"Hey, you can do it, you're strong enough. Remember what I showed you last time, drop your knee, and keep your core tense."  
"I'll do my best, but it's easy for you to say. You're jumping from hold to hold in your cute gym clothes, making it look so effortless."  
Shoes gathered and boxes stacked in her arms again, Lexa peeked from behind them, her usual certitude only broken by a small crinkle in her eyes.  
"You think I look cute in my gym clothes?"  
A quick look at Raven proved she wasn't going to be of help. Shoving the boxes into Lexa's arms, Clarke mumbled something inaudible, waving her hands a bit uncontrollably in front of surprised Lexa, and walked towards a further route. Raven laughed out loud before shrugging her arms, and followed.  
"Hey, wait up, Casanova," she made sure her holler was loud enough for Lexa to hear. "Dude, wait up. Maybe you wanna come back and fix that?"  
"Shut up, Rave. Just... tie up. It's your fault anyway!"  
Ropes started tangling, and carabiners began jingling.  
"What? So you can't get your shit together, how is that my fault?" seemingly by mistake, the end of Raven's rope smacked Clarke in her forearm, smacked her back to reality, even though she didn't want to face it particularly.  
"She probably heard your comment about Finn!"  
"Well, good! You're both too stupid to admit that you have the hots for each other. At least she knows she needs to be fast, coz I don't think you're currently eloquent enough to vocalize your feelings… Ugh, watch it!" the shove was playful, but Raven swayed. "All right, all right. I'll let it go. For now! Come on, Don Juan."  
Still holding to the last shreds of denial, still fighting with her now undeniably existent crush, Clarke huffed, annoyed at herself. While her eyes skipped towards Lexa, who busied herself with staff duties, her mind wandered towards all the times she was flirted with, wandered towards all the drunken nights when she was able to use words to pick up girls, and then came full circle to settle back on Lexa, on the first girl that made her babble and swallow her words. Up till this moment, Clarke understood life as a constant pull and push of feelings, emotions, actions, and responsibilities, a pull and push of people who she interacted with. Her interactions with Lexa were scarce, but she couldn't help feeling the pull towards the girl. With the sound of Lexa's banter with the rest of the staff, luring her eyes towards her, Clarke turned her eyes back to Raven as soon as she caught Lexa's enticed stare.


	3. You make me nervous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the longer waiting time, but we're here now! Thank you for the kudos <3 Let's see what they get into this time!

"Just keep it in your pants today, alright? I want to do some actual climbing," Raven raised her eyebrows, not looking for anything else but a confirmation, and certainly not looking for the lovey-dovey eyes and stolen smiles Clarke was already sporting. Clarke's lovey-dovey eyes were already searching for Lexa, scanning the gym, mind focused, body trying to conceal her hopeful excitement. Raven shook her head, not used to seeing her friend in such a disheveled and helpless state over a girl. With a tight embrace, she pushed them over to the gym check-in desk. Lexa emerged from the staff corner, seemingly not waiting for them exactly, seemingly unaffected with their arrival; her moves quasi-sure but direct when she grabbed Clarke's entry card, brushing their fingers.  
"Hey," a quick look was shared, a short curious and blushing peek. "How are you?" Lexa returned her gaze to the computer, scanning their passes and noting their entrance in the gym system.  
"Good, yeah… You?"  
"Yeah, good, good..."  
Behind Clarke, Raven snickered, and the awkwardness multiplied, the embarrassment grew as two people seemed to be stuck in the clumsy limbo. The cards beeped, breaking the moment, and Raven pushed them towards the changing rooms.  
"Come on, Romeo," was whispered between friends, as the rest of the staff received small waves and excused smiles. Clarke tripped, and Raven couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud this time.  
"Honestly, C, I don't know who you are anymore. You can talk down the biggest asshole at the bar, but this chick gets you all flustered and stuttering."  
"What? No. I just… She… No," lacking any evidence against Raven's observation, Clarke halted her lousy attempts to cover her tracks and sighed. "Shut up."  
"I'll shut up if you shut up. It was funny at first, you know, but it's a bit pathetic now."  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."  
"Ask the girl out. Put me out of my misery. Put yourself out of your own misery, I dare you!"  
"Said the girl who usually asks for dates," Clarke quipped back, a half-snide comment to Raven's relaxed policy on fuck buddies and her half-assed view on romance.  
"Difference is, I don’t care, que sera sera and all that carpe diem shit. You? You're the 'penguins mate for life" kinda girl. And you've been having sexy, awkward convos with Lexa for the past couple of weeks. Like, really awkward convos. Like, ‘you look cute in your gym clothes’ kind of awkward…”  
“Ok, ok, I get it, awkward. Geez.”  
“I’m just saying, Clarke. Own it. Ask her out, for God's sake. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?”  
"She could hear me?" giggles followed the joke, and the conversation lost its seriousness, brought back to the lighthearted banter of a concerned friend. "I mean, what if it's in my head, and I just make things awkward?"  
"Trust me, it’s not. And you couldn’t make it more awkward even if you tried! It’s already pitiful, if you ask me," a slap on her arm proved that Clarke wasn't fully ready to own her budding feelings in front of Raven. But the conversation made her think, and she was already musing about Lexa too much. She felt like this day, there was more than belaying klutzy Raven that she was going to conquer.

The moment Clarke set foot back down on the floor after flashing her first advanced route, she kind of knew more was going to happen. Raven scooped her up, spanned her around, proud of her best friend, proud of her for working against her fear. Clarke laughed wholeheartedly, squealing and trying to curb her enthusiasm. Some of their climbing gym friends cheered and clapped for her success as well, confirming the overall feeling of their climbing family. By the kids’ wall, where she was working on screwing new routes for the upcoming competition, Lexa smiled toothily and shouted her congratulations.  
Feeling like a little kid, feeling like the support and faith shown by Raven was the missing ingredient, Clarke jogged up to Lexa, buzzed and happy, positive and hopeful.  
"Hey! So listen, would you like to grab a beer and tell me your climbing stories? Somewhere else, I mean. In a pub, maybe, with a game of pool?"  
Despite her visible support and friendly disposition, Lexa raised an eyebrow slightly, uncertain, and maybe a little challenging.  
"I don't know, do I? Because last time we spoke, you didn't seem too keen on having a conversation, so I'm not sure."  
"Yeah, well," Clarke puckered her lips without thinking, endorphins still on her tongue and in her brain. ”You make me nervous and distracted and then shit happens, so, don’t hold it against me. I panicked."  
"I make you nervous?" the question was wrapped in an off-handed tone, but still hopeful, finished with a short whirl of Lexa’s drill, screwing the last hold.  
"Ugh..." Clarke huffed as the realization of her words materialized, knocking down half of her eagerness and zeal. She shuffled her feet, ready to leave, ready to accept her defeat and wallow in self-pity.  
"Clarke, I'm sorry, wait!” the instructor breathed out, like the air was to reset the situation. “Say it again."  
"What, that you make me nervous? Well, you do,” arms went flailing as Clarke accepted the challenge in Lexa’s voice, accepted that their previous gawky encounters had to be acknowledged. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. I can’t help it! But have you seen you? You're like, a sexy ninja spider-woman, jumping flawlessly from hold to hold…”  
“In my cute gym clothes…” came a smiley whisper that Clarke didn’t seem to pick up on.  
“It's very intimidating. And… And you walk around, all pretty and confident, and everyone admires you and I'm just. I mean. You're. I'm..." there was a break in Clarke’s tirade, and Lexa used it to cut in, a little more surely this time.  
"No, I mean, say again that you want to go out with me."  
The cheeky smile on Lexa’s face wasn’t half as troublesome as the realization that hit Clarke suddenly. Her secret was out, there was no point denying it, and she was sure Lexa would dig more of them sooner or later, without really trying that hard. Another deep breath cleansed the air between the two women.  
"See? Do you see what I mean? This is what happens."  
"Well, how's this Friday?"  
Clarke huffed, she had nothing to lose but all to be embarrassed about, so a short answer had to do. She turned on her heel.  
"Fine. I'll text you the meeting point. See, how hard was that?"  
Lexa knitted her eyebrows, but smiled, taken aback at the entire exchanged, mulling over the ridiculously cute girl who just lost her cool in an unusual, albeit successful, asking-out attempt. She looked at Raven questioningly, but the other girl shrugged her shoulders, but not without showing thumbs up.


	4. Jury's Still Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay, the world's been crazy! But maybe this will make your day better, hehe. Thank you for reading!

Never before had it occurred to Clarke how much the city was part of her, how many nooks and crannies she now had to discover again, when having fun at the climbing gym, a climbing gym that became both her outlet and her safe haven. But the city, the city was always there, not in any way angry, not in the least resentful, but forever willing to take her back and let her fall back on its habits. The streetlights mixed with the neon ad signs, and it was funny how she now noticed the calming beam of yellows, reds, blues, and greens that mixed on the streets. The faint music was seeping through the cracks in the buildings, and the lights mixed with the sounds, surrounding her with the familiar feeling of comfy and homey; enveloping her with newfound spunk. People pushed past her in their daily routines, couples wandered around enjoying their time, and Clarke wanted all of them to know she was waiting for Lexa. She wasn’t nervous, she reassured herself, no sweaty hands or stress, no trip in her step or nervousness in her thoughts. She wasn’t nervous, but this time she was hopeful, hopeful for more than stolen glances or snappy sentences that had no game, hopeful for keeping her cool and enchanting the girl who made her heart tumble and shake.  
When Lexa rounded the corner, simple jeans and a black jacket instead of colorful leggings, beanie pushed over her unruly curls and a matching scarf, when she smiled and waved cockily, part of Clarke’s hope seamlessly melted into trepidation.  
“Funny seeing you here, Clarke,” a smooth voice greeted, eyes twinkled daringly. “I wouldn’t peg you for a Guinness fan,” with a slight nod towards the Irish pub, Lexa pulled the door, leading them to the overly tourist joint.  
“Bushmills, actually. I used to work here my freshman year.”  
“Damn. So embarrassing stories are a-coming?”  
“Interrogation, more like it. Keep your seatbelt on, champ.”  
Brazen with the welcoming glances from the bar crew and some of the regulars, pushed by the lightly stunned stare from Lexa, Clarke led them to her favorite booth, signaling the barkeep. It took two minutes before a brunette appeared.  
“Been a while, princess,” a ballsy remark was directed at Clarke only, a challenge at Lexa’s presence. Glasses clinked and liquid swirled, eyes twinkled and tension arose. Lexa’s eyebrows shot up at the nickname and Clarke felt a satisfying thrill, looking at the hotshot athlete trying to cover her tracks with a too big of a swig of Northern Irish whiskey.  
“Good to see you too, O.”  
“I thought you got spooked after our last rendezvous,” the convo still with Clarke, the stare was suddenly redirected at her companion, calm and protective, if not still ballsy. Laughter followed, from both friends. Lexa struggled to admit to herself that she felt a little out of place, a little out of practice in the “meeting your family” department, especially when she couldn’t show off. She struggled to accept the change in their dynamic, struggled to quickly find the balance, but one memory of her winning the uni climbing championship award, the memory of working against herself brought back her courage. She wasn’t one to let shyness or pride scare a beautiful girl, scare her for the second time at that. Two breaths later, she could finally taste the whiskey and see the brightness of Clarke’s eyes, crinkled by the smile; so she re-focused and joined their smiles as well.  
“You should know by now I never back down from a dare. I can stutter through it, for sure, but… Anyway, Lexa, this is Octavia, we met here actually, working the same crazy karaoke shifts. O, this is Lexa, we climb together, sometimes.”  
“Is that a euphemism?”  
“Someday, hopefully,” braving the exchange between people with history came Lexa’s first reply, her cheeky comment bouncing back the earlier challenge to Octavia. “Jury’s still out.”  
“Can be a lengthy trial, princess here is a slug when she’s smitten, I’m sure you’ve noticed.”  
“More time to enjoy the moments, I’ll say.”  
Octavia moved her stare between Clarke and Lexa, a bit of surprise hidden behind her dark eyes, and refilled their glasses in one move. With a small commotion behind her, a tall redhead man stomped towards them.  
“Clarke! How you’ve been, love! It’s been a wee minute!  
“Hi Tadgh, yeah, it’s been busy with classes, internship, and Raven’s therapy. But life’s good, you know?  
“Aye, chuffed to hear that, love. You should sing, you gonna sing today?”  
“Not today, no. But we’ll make plans for another time.”  
Another stare contest, friendlier this time, and yet another clear dig at the almost-romantic  
“We better. Aye, Ciaran will flip. Don’t be a wee stranger, love.”  
Lexa’s mind wondered how Clarke’s life looked when she worked in the pub. Watching Octavia and Tagdh leave, she wondered if the pub was welcoming to her. At the same time, she didn’t want to picture Clarke running the bar, but she hoped to someday see her in her element.  
“Did you bring me here to turn the table?”  
Since they arrived at the pub, there was no cut words and broken sentences, there was no uncertainty in Clarke’s voice, and no trouble in her thoughts, it seemed.  
“I did, actually. No, really, I was so sick of being the bumbling mess I am at the gym, so I thought I’ll bring you to my neck of the woods. And here we are.”  
“Here we are indeed. So, signing, huh?  
“Did you assume I bartended? I used to be in a band, we had a slot every Wednesday, it started as cover night, but after a while, we had such a dedicated audience that we could sneak in some original songs. And then Raven had her accident and I wasn’t as much available, so I sang less and less, and eventually, the band got a new vocalist and moved on. Oh, and I bartended as well, yeah.”  
“Sorry to hear the band didn’t work out.”  
“All good. My friend’s alive, and I can still sing. The band actually released an album a few months ago, they put some of my songs there too.”  
“Maybe I can hear them someday.”  
“Play your cards right, and you just might. Another?”  
The conversation seemed to flow endlessly, along with the glasses of whiskey and water. Sharing stories felt natural, and so did the stream of people who would come over to say “hi” to Clarke and ask about her life. Her bubbly presence and attention towards every single person were admirable, and Lexa couldn’t stop being proud to be sitting next to her, smiling at her friends, laughing at their jokes. Some of them would eye Lexa suspiciously, and after a while, Clarke moved closer to her and bumped her shoulder, and made sure to always be squeezed next to her, and the interrogations stopped. She got the stamp of approval, both from Clarke, and from her pub friends, and it felt good to inch closer to her world, ease into her life. After a while, when the entire pub finally knew that Clark was visiting, the call-ins to their table slowed down and even Octavia trusted Lexa enough to leave the Bushmills bottle with them. The music, the background noise, the droplets of whiskey, and their laughter molded, knitting a comfortable scarf around the pair, wrapping ease and happiness around.  
“Is it ok to ask what happened to Raven?”  
“Car accident. She took the brunt of it, so…”  
“You were in the car with her?”  
“I was in the driver’s seat. I didn’t cause it, in case that’s where your mind went. This drunk asshole ran a red light. But it’s sort of my fault regardless, you know? I’m lucky she’s still my friend. I’m lucky she’s Raven, actually.”  
“I’m glad she is as well. She’s a fight, but I can see your friendship a mile away. Putting this weight on your shoulders shows how much you care. Not that you need my opinion, but I’d say never change that.”  
“I like this you. I mean, I like all of you, but it’s nice to see you confident and relaxed, on your turf. Thank you for bringing me here.”  
“You like all of me, huh?”  
“You know, for someone who gets nervous around me, you’re pretty cheeky today. You know that, right?"  
With the mood shifting, their eyes locked and arms bounced, and Clarke tried not to think about their dynamic shifting slowly. The honesty flowing freely and the genuine candor that entered their conversation felt comfortable. Lexa beamed.  
"OK, so what did you do with Octavia recently?”


End file.
